Large
Classroom
Teac hing
DEVELOPING CLICKER QUESTIONS
In the following examples, Professor Robert Brym illustrates how to integrate clicker questions into
lecture content. Using material from a Sociology 101 lecture, Professor Brym unpacks three different
strategies of clicker questions with an accompanying explanation of how to include audience responses.
Kinds of Clicker Questions
Attitudinal
What is your opinion? How does it compare to the opinion of others? Why is it similar
to/different from the opinion of others?
Behavioural
How do you act? How does your action compare to the action of others? Why is it
similar to/different from the action of others?
Application
To what degree can you use your knowledge to solve a problem?
Attitudinal Questions
Explanation:
The attitudinal question in slide 1 elicited the classroom response in slide 2. The instructor then showed responses to the same question from representative national surveys in four countries (slide 3) and asked students
a series of questions (listed in slide 4) requiring them to interpret slides 2 and 3.
Slide One
Clicker Question
Slide Two
Classroom Response
In the long run, do you think the
scientific advances we are making
will help or harm humankind?
A. Will help
B. Don’t Know
C. Will harm
Will help
Don’t Know
Will harm
Prepared by Robert Brym, Teaching Academy Member,
University of Toronto, p.1
Slide Three
Percent “will help,” World Values Survey
Slide Four
Discussion Questions
1. Why do a minority of students think scientific
advances will help humankind?
2. Why is the percentage of “will help” students
smaller than the percentage of “will help” Canadians?
3. Why is the percentage of “will help” Canadians
smaller than the corresponding percentage for
some countries and larger than the corresponding percentage for other countries?
Behavioural Questions
Explanation:
The instructor asked students a series of four behavioural questions (slides 1-4) below and recorded their responses in slide 5. Slide 5 also contains data on responses to the same questions by a sample of North American
university students. Slide 6 lists questions the instructor asked to get students to interpret the data in slide 5.
Slide One
Clicker Question
Slide Two
Clicker Question
Slide Three
Clicker Question
Slide Four
Clicker Question
Men: Do you
identify yourself as
gay?
Women: Do you
identify yourself as
gay?
Men: Since puberty,
have you been
sexually attracted
to another man?
Women: Since puberty, have you been
sexually attracted to
another man?
1.Yes
2. No
1.Yes
2. No
1.Yes
2. No
Slide Six
Discussion Questions
Slide Five
Sexual Identity & Sexual Attraction
Female
North
Male
Males American
North
in class university
students
American
Females
university
in class
students
1.Yes
2. No
Female
North
Male
American
North
American Males university
university in class students Females
in class
students
1. Why are the identification percentages lower
than the corresponding attraction percentages?
2. Why are the female identification percentages lower than the corresponding male identification percentages?
3. Why are the female attraction percentages
higher than the corresponding male attraction
percentages?
4. Why are the class percentages higher than
the corresponding North American university
student percentages?
Prepared by Robert Brym, Teaching Academy Member,
University of Toronto, p.2
Application Questions
Explanation:
The exercise summarized by these slides allowed students to develop their skills in (1) reading 2- and 3-variable
tables; (2) identifying independent, dependent and control variables; and (3) understanding spuriousness and causality. Starting with the hypothesis that more hours of watching TV results in more violent behaviour, slide 1 below
cross-classifies hours of TV viewing by frequency of violent acts. Slide 2 shows the same cross-classification for
men only. In order to answer the questions in slide 3, students had to be able to read and interpret slides 1 and 2.
Slide One
Hours ofof TV
TV Viewing
Viewing (%) Percen
Acts of Violence by Hours
t Percent
differe
Difference
nce Hours of TV Viewing
<10hrs/wk Violence
Violence 10+hrs/wk <1 violent act/yr 52 46 6 1+ violent act /yr 48 54 6 Total frequency 130 70 Total percent 100 100 Slide Two
Acts of Violence by Hours of TV Viewing (%; Men)
Hours of TV Viewing Hours of TV Viewing
Violence
<10hrs/wk Violence 10+h
rs/wk Percent Percent
difference Difference
<1 violent act/yr 40 40 0 1+ violent act /yr 60 60 0 Total frequency 50 50 100 100 Total percent Slide Three
Testing an Association for
Spuriousness
1. What are the independent, dependent, and control variables in
these tables?
2. How do you know whether an
association exists between TV
viewing and violence?
3. How do you know whether the
association between TV viewing
and violence is spurious?
4. How do you explain the association between TV viewing and
violence in a way that is consistent
with these tables?
Prepared by Robert Brym, Teaching Academy Member,
University of Toronto, p.3